A site dedicated to G.K. Chesterton, his friends, and the writers he influenced: Belloc, Baring, Lewis, Tolkien, Dawson, Barfield, Knox, Muggeridge, and others.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The One Doctrine Which Can Be Proven.........

According to GK Chesterton is the doctrine of Original Sin. If there is any one point which can be agreed upon by by Christians, Athiests, Buddhists, Wiccans, and drug abusers it is that there is something wrong with human nature which requires a remedy. It is unfortunate that a staw man parody of this doctrine is often set up by skeptics who cannot see the issue as larger than infants bearing guilt.

My life experience has borne this proof out to me in a rather unique way. During college, I strayed into Eastern Philosophy/Mysticism and met several individuals involved in traditional Chinese medicine. I delved deeply into these areas, and hold the unusual credentials (for an orthodox Catholic) of bearing a lineage in traditional Chinese internal martial arts (from Yi Tien -Wen, Taipei). The pathway of the East is being widely embraced by those who yearn for "spirituality without religion", and this was the case even in Chesterton's day. Many ILN essays cover this topic, and lovers of Orthodoxy will remember Chesterton's contrasting the reclining Buddha with the statue of the Saint.

(autor)OK Kyro, you lost me. How does this involve original sin?

(lector)You see, honest examination of the pathways of the East eventually leads one back to Christ. Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit missionaries to China saw this. In many ways Taoist/Confucianist cultures(not so much Buddhist) are much like the Platonic/Stoic world of the first century; Revelation is the key the opens the doors which bar Taoism and Confucianism from being complete systems.

(autor)Um, original sin?

(lector)Classical Chinese thought is not relativistic, autonomous, and hippie-friendly. For decades publishers have manipulated texts and passages to build up a facade to build a new spirituality for moderns. The point is, it is NEW, even the Chinese never believed this stuff. You see, morality in these systems is very rigorous. The Dalai Lama's books are highly edited when released in the West. On sexuality, His Holiness the Dalai Lama would agree almost totally with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVII.

As a matter of fact, a very good traditional Chinese medical practicioner(TCM) can diagnose many moral ailments from subtle cues within the body. At my level of training in these things, more as a coach than as a doctor, I am left with several impressions.

The body works in its most efficient state when working in accordance with its natural design. In terms of fighting, certain angles are advantageous, leverage is maximized in certain positions and lost in others. The body's musculature can be engaged in a certain way to maximize power and maintain balance ----------and all of these things have to be learned, drilled, discovered, and developed. This is in contradiction to everything else in nature. Animals have natural instincts that lead them to pursue and hunt. Water does not need to do anything but be water in order to flow downhill. Yet for some mysterious reason(original sin), in order to follow the path of least resistance as a human being requires dedicated effort. Anyone who has spent a great deal of time on the mat knows this feeling, that there is an ideal being strived for that is just out of reach and what is preventing its achievement would be called concupiscence and fallen human nature by theologians.

Chesterton says that original sin is the only Christian doctrine which one can prove. He meant this in the sense of the moral failures of individuals and the ills of the social world. I believe that it can also be proven at a very bodily level.

3 comments:

I have often considered the existence of human stupidity to be a profound proof of original sin. That there are people in this world who do not govern themselves logically, or understand logic when it is presented to them, is pretty clear evidence that something has gone terrible wrong.

Kyro, could you write up a few more posts comparing your Asian study experiences and your current Catholic embrace? Lately I've become interested in the contrast between Buddhism and Catholicism, and would love to read some more polemics from a knowledgeable individual.